PLMYP 20

Chapter 20 —

After receiving a summons from the Emperor, Irenea was taken straight to his private parlor.

“The Emperor is currently in a council meeting. Please wait here for a moment.”

Leonard had worried the entire way to the palace that she might have upset the Emperor because of him. But if that were true, she wouldn’t have been taken to the Emperor’s private parlor. Instead, she would’ve been sent to the common waiting room used by nobles, just to be shown off. And she wouldn’t have been offered tea either.

So, feeling a bit more at ease, she calmly sipped her tea.

—Knock knock.

“His Majesty will see you now.”

Before she could finish her tea, the head maid entered to announce the Emperor’s arrival.

Irenea quickly stood and adjusted her clothes as the Emperor entered, his sharp gaze already fixed on her.

She bowed respectfully as he sat down across from her.

“I, Irenea Blair, greet the Sun of the Empire.”

“Sit.”

The Emperor casually motioned to her and let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead like he had a headache.

Seeing the deep frown between his brows, the head maid silently poured him tea, while the other maids rolled in a cart and set out new desserts.

“Everyone, leave.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Everyone knew the Emperor treasured the Marquis of Blair’s daughter and often met her privately. So, without question, the guards and maids left.

As soon as they were gone, the Emperor slumped back in his chair.

“Honestly, these fools all think the royal treasury is their personal emergency fund. Irenea, you should go give a lecture on the joys of being a responsible taxpayer.”

“I’d love to get paid for giving that lecture, but sadly, that’s something people have to realize on their own.”

“Then teach them how to come to that realization. I’m not asking for much. If we had just three more nobles like you who actually paid taxes properly, I’d be thrilled.”

Irenea chuckled, covering her mouth.

“My methods are too expensive. No one would want to buy them.”

Of course—they’d have to die and be reborn to live like her.

“You really would sell even that, huh? You wicked little merchant.”

He clicked his tongue but kindly pushed the dessert plate toward her.

After dealing with greedy nobles all day who only cared about squeezing money from the Empire while claiming their citizens were starving, Irenea must have looked like a breath of fresh air.

She was actually thankful to those nobles—let them keep annoying the Emperor. The more annoyed he was, the more he’d like her.

“But Irenea, you must already know why I summoned you so early.”

The Emperor dropped a few newspapers on the table.

The headline on the top paper read:

“A Staged Performance from the Start — Why Were Others Made into Extras?”

“The press is clearly out to attack you. Here, read this article.”

“Even Using the Emperor’s Name for a Love Show — How Arrogant Can the Blair Marquis Be?”

Even just the headlines made it clear how critical the articles were. She didn’t really need to read them—but since the Emperor asked, she opened the paper.

She only paid attention to one thing: the name of the news outlet.

‘Sponsored by Duke William.’

No wonder the article was so harsh. Duke William absolutely hated her.

“Right now, some nobles are probably celebrating, trying to come up with ways to complain about you to me.”

“They’ll probably say I’ve grown arrogant because Your Majesty favors me too much and that I’ve hurt the dignity of the royal family.”

Her answer flowed naturally, and the Emperor didn’t hide his annoyance.

“You knew that, and yet you still gave them an excuse to attack you? Why? Because you thought I’d protect you?”

“Of course not. Your Majesty, I know you care for me, which is exactly why I make sure to draw the line between what I should and shouldn’t do. Please understand—this wasn’t something I did without thinking.”

“You didn’t do it without thinking? Then what were you thinking?”

The Emperor nodded for her to explain.

Irenea quickly answered.

“When I first saw the catalog for the Roelle auction, I was shocked. My fiancé put a family heirloom up for auction without telling me!”

“You really didn’t know your fiancé was auctioning off a family treasure?”

“If I had, I would’ve stopped him. It’s a disgrace to the family name.”

“Then why would he do such a thing? Was it because of family debt?”

That question told her the Emperor already knew the details, so she got straight to the point.

“Well, he was being blackmailed. By none other than the Second Prince.”

She even put on a sad, hurt look, like the memory still upset her.

The Emperor frowned slightly, surprised or perhaps unsure whether to believe her.

“The Second Prince? Why would he do that?”

“I couldn’t understand it either, so I looked into it. And you won’t believe it—Lord Matthias was involved.”

“Lord Matthias?”

The Emperor was well aware of who supported the Crown Princess and the Second Prince.

He hadn’t interfered at all with the Crown Princess building her faction, but with the Second Prince, he had kept a closer eye, making sure the wrong people didn’t get too close.

He had allowed Lloyd Matthias near his son after careful thought. Matthias wasn’t outstanding—but also not useless.

“Ah, Lloyd Matthias. I remember him. He’s the one your fiancé knocked out in one punch during a duel, right? I recall the academy principal getting complaints about the fairness of that graduation test.”

That incident showed Matthias wasn’t exactly a genius.

“Yes. Ever since then, he’s held a grudge against my fiancé. Plus, he once proposed to me—and I rejected him. So I think when he heard about our engagement, he plotted revenge.”

Irenea had only just announced her engagement a few days ago. Before that, she and Leonard had no known ties.

So Matthias couldn’t have known ahead of time—unless he’d guessed based on her preparing a formal engagement party two months earlier.

The Emperor seemed to reach that same conclusion.

“So you’re saying… Matthias used my son to get revenge on you and your fiancé?”

“You heard what happened at the auction, right? Most nobles didn’t dare bid, out of respect for the Second Prince. But Matthias smugly bid only 110,000 Lark.”

People had avoided the bid because the sword looked too old—but Irenea twisted the facts to make her story more convincing.

“He even laughed while no one else raised their paddles. Your Majesty, I swear I’m innocent. If anyone used the Emperor’s name to make a mockery, it was Lloyd Matthias.”

The Emperor frowned deeply.

“And my son got involved in such a petty scheme?”

Irenea lowered her eyes, looking timid—though it was all an act.

“I don’t understand why, either. But he clearly saw the sword and still didn’t bid on it.”

If he had no hidden motive, he would have bought the sword, especially since it belonged to the First Emperor. And the current Emperor held the First Emperor in the highest respect.

As expected, this line of reasoning worked.

“So you’re saying… you took the blame just to protect your fiancé’s honor, after being targeted by Matthias and the Second Prince?”

“Yes. I couldn’t ask His Highness why he blackmailed my fiancé. This was the best I could do.”

The Emperor sighed heavily at her sincere words.

“You should have just told me.”

“If I had proof, I would have. But honestly, I still don’t.”

Unfortunately, Sellen had failed to get hard evidence. The scheme had happened inside the palace, which was hard to infiltrate.

Sellen had said she could sneak in, but Irenea had stopped her. If the Emperor found out she’d placed spies in the palace, it’d be impossible to explain.

“Still, everything points to them scheming together.”

Irenea bowed her head instead of nodding. The Emperor, watching her, let out another sigh and took a long sip of his cold tea.

“I already knew the Second Prince called your fiancé to the palace. When I asked him why, he said he just wanted to hear about mercenaries.”

Calling a noble out of nowhere just to ask about mercenaries? What a poor excuse.

Even the Emperor had thought so.

“Do you know why I didn’t press him further?”

 

Irenea nodded.